Wednesday Open Thread [5.14.14]

“If the Republicans don’t do it they shouldn’t bother to run a candidate in 2016. I mean, think about that. Think about who the voters are.”

Those are the words and opinion of Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue, on the need to pass immigration reform. Added to Mitt Romney’s declaration last week that the GOP really needs to raise the minimum wage, and we are started to see a real split of the Republican Business Party from the Republican Crazytown Party. For you see, say what you will about Republican businessmen, but most of them tend to be able to understand reality. They understand that without immigration reform, the Republican Party as it currently exists will never again win a presidential election. And yet… First Read:

“Immigration is really a ‘rock and a hard place issue’ for the GOP: If they don’t get the issue behind them, the GOP will struggle to win presidential elections. But the cost of getting the issue behind them — short term — could be more of a problem than many in the Acela Corridor realize. We’ve gone back and forth about whether we think immigration can get done either this year or EARLY next year. But judging by how divisive the issue still is — and how potent the issue still is in primaries — we’re just not sure how it gets done without causing major internal damage in the GOP.”

Immigration forces the GOP to make a choice: Either it wants to be the White Racist Party, or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, it passes immigration reform and lets all the white racists out there leave the party for whatever KKK or Nazi organization they can find. If it doesn’t pass immigration reform, the GOP wants to be the White Racist Party. Simple as that.

We have a ton of polling results from the past week and this week:

NATIONAL–OBAMACARE–CNN: 61% want Congress to leave the Affordable Care Act alone (12%) or make some changes to the law in an attempt to make it work better (49%). Meanwhile, 38% want the law repealed and replaced with a completely different system (18%) or say the measure should be repealed, with Americans going back to the system in place before the law was implemented (20%).

KENTUCKY–OBAMACARE–Marist: Kentuckians dislike Obamacare by a wide margin, 57% to 33%. But, when they are asked how they like Kynect, the state exchange created as a result of the health care law, the picture was quite different with a plurality in favor, 29% to 22%.

“Call it something else, and the negatives drop.” Greg Sargent noted last month one Democratic House candidate “is running a new ad hitting Republicans specifically for wanting to end Kentucky Kynect, as opposed to wanting to repeal Obamacare.”

ALASKA–SENATE–Public Policy Polling: Sen. Mark Begich (D) 42, Dan Sullivan (R) 37; Begich (D) 41, Mead Treadwell (R) 33.

ARKANSAS–SENATE–NBC News-Marist: Sen. Mark Pryor (D) 51, Rep. Tom Cotton (R) 40.

KENTUCKY–SENATE–NBC News-Marist: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) 46, Allison Lundergan Grimes (D) 45

KENTUCKY–SENATE–Hickman Analytics: McConnell (R) 46, Grimes (D) 45.

GEORGIA–SENATE–NBC News-Marist: David Perdue (R) 45, Michelle Nunn (D) 41; Michelle Nunn (D) 43, Rep. Jack Kingston (R) 43; Michelle Nunn (D) 42, Karen Handel (R) 39

GEORGIA–SENATE–REPUBLICAN PRIMARY–NBC News-Marist:
Perdue 23, Kingston 18, Handel 14

GEORGIA–SENATE–REPUBLICAN PRIMARY–SurveyUSA: Perdue 27, Kingston 19, Handel 16, Rep. Phil Gingrey 10, Rep. Paul Broun 10.

GEORGIA–SENATE–REPUBLICAN PRIMARY–St. Leo University: Perdue 26, Kingston 16, Handel 15, Broun 13 and Gingrey 8.

HAWAII–SENATE–DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY–Public Policy Polling: Sen. Brian Schatz (D) 49, Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D) 34.

COLORADO–SENATE–Public Policy Polling: Sen. Mark Udall (D) 47, Rep. Cory Gardener (R) 43.

NEW HAMPSHIRE–SENATE–Dartmouth: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) 39, Fmr. Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (R) 36.

NEW HAMPSHIRE–SENATE–Hickman Analytics: Shaheen (D) 49, Brown (R) 43.

IOWA–SENATE–Hickman Analytics: Rep. Bruce Braley (D) 44, Joni Ernst (R) 40.

NORTH CAROLINA–SENATE–Public Policy Polling: Sen. Kay Hagan (D) 38, Thom Tillis (R) 36, Sean Haugh (L) 11.

MAINE–GOVERNOR–Critical Insights: Rep. Mike Michaud (D) 37, Gov. Paul LePage (R) 36, Eliot Cutler (I) 18.

MARYLAND–GOVERNOR–Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research (R): Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D) 42, Larry Hogan (R) 35.

MARYLAND–GOVERNOR–Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research (R): Brown 34, Doug Gansler 20, Heather Mizeur 7.

GEORGIA–GOVERNOR–SurveyUSA: Gov. Nathan Deal (R) 43, Jason Carter (D) 37, Andrew Hunt (L) 7.

GEORGIA–GOVERNOR–St. Leo University: Deal (R) 38, Carter (R) 35, Hunt (L) 7.

OHIO–GOVERNOR–Quinnipiac: Gov. John Kasich (R) 50, Ed Fitzgerald (D) 35.

PENNSYLVANIA–GOVERNOR–DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY–Franklin & Marshall: Tom Wolf (D) 33, Allyson Schwartz (D) 14, Rob McCord (D) 9 and Katie McGinty (D) 5. 39% of registered Democrats are still not sure.